Other Half: Nothing Else Matters
by CuteVampireCollie
Summary: Kairi thinks that finding Sora is all that matters. Meeting Xion changes things a bit. Well, completely. Suddenly nothing else matters except this black-haired girl that greatly resembles her. Xion feels the same about Kairi. After a sudden meeting and the fact that Xion has no heart to feel with, can they really be for each other? Might sound a bit rushed.


It was weird…Kairi could feel something. Some_thing_ emanating from some_where_. But she didn't know where or what. The feeling was so strong she just couldn't tell if something was everything and somewhere was everywhere. Confusion suddenly struck the bright and fiery redhead standing on the cool and breezy beach, planted squarely in the middle of Destiny Islands.

She was waiting for Sora…she knew that much. She remembered those dark shadowy creatures pushing up from under the ground and into their lifeless, heartless existence and attacking their home…being sucked up in darkness, and…Sora's heart joining with hers. That's all she needed to know, right? But suddenly she wasn't so sure.

She had learned, like Sora and Riku, that there were other worlds out there. And not just the one they had happened to be on at the time. But now Kairi was back and waiting for them. Her two best friends in all of the worlds… They were on an adventure and oddly enough, adrenaline was now starting to simmer in Kairi's veins, electrifying every nerve and making her limbs tingle with a nervous, jittery excitement. She wanted to see those worlds, too.

Why was she all alone while they got to be on an adventure of sorts? Even if it was a dangerous and possibly incredibly terrifying journey…she wanted to be _doing_ _something._ Not just sitting around and biding her time, waiting and hoping for Sora and Riku to come back safely. At the very least, shouldn't she at least go look for them? Instead of making them have to find their way back home without any help or guidance?

She caught her lower lip between her teeth, nibbling it, abusively worrying the soft, pink skin as she contemplated what to do. Sora and Riku both would be mad if they found out later that she had put herself in unnecessary harm's way…but this was necessary in a sense, wasn't it? They were trying to get back home to her because she was their friend...

'_They're my friends too…I have to go look for them. But how….?' _Kairi didn't even know where to start. She still didn't know how they had made it to other worlds. Was it something doable for anyone or just for the right person?

Maybe it was that thought that led to what happened next. Kairi tilted her head in wonder as a big, swirling glob or darkness appeared in front of her. But it was intricate, like dark, coal-colored flames with sparks of purple intertwining within its depths, just hovering near the surface.

Much like a flame, she could feel the slight pull toward it, the dark tendrils licking and nipping at her exposed skin, which made her feel violated. But the adrenaline urged her forward, seeming to give her a push from behind, much like someone's guardian angel would do to push their person out of the way of an oncoming car or the path of a natural disaster.

Her feet moved slowly and somewhat hesitantly towards the looming swirl of darkness. It made a strange whooshing sound that almost made it sound like a wave, inviting her to come and play in the water. She reached out a trembling hand to see if it could be touched, but quickly pulled it back, looking all around her; for some reason terrified that someone was watching. Was this how she would find Sora and Riku?

She pondered the fact, her slender eyebrows furrowed in thought, her hands now on her hips, her teeth nibbling on her lower lip once more. Yes, she had to do this. She felt it in a part of her, very deep and out of reach. Untouchable. She couldn't explain it, so she just took a deep breath and walked into the looming, dark mass.

She felt weightless for only a moment, her eyes only seeing a vast amount of white before the light quickly faded, just as fast as it had appeared. And what she saw before her made her gasp, her eyes blinking several times, disoriented from the brightness from mere seconds before. The new scenery was dark and completely pitch-black with only the light of the moonlight showing her everything else that encompassed this strange, new area.

From the moonlight shining down on her she could see buildings, skyscrapers, to be exact and in the middle of all of the gloomy-looking buildings was a humongous, grey castle. The darkness brought a stark contrast to the castle, making it seem less dull than everything surrounding it. It seemed to be the brightest thing in this place. Aside from the moon, that is.

Kairi's eyes flicked back up to the moon, only just realizing something that was different. So different than in her world…The moon. It was in the shape of a heart. _'A heart….?'_ The thought puzzled her deeply, making her own heart skip a beat. She suddenly felt as if something was overwhelming her, like the darkness had done when it had taken her here.

She felt as if her heart was no longer her own; beating fast and hard like a drumstick on the snare, beating to a rhythm and not wanting to stop or slow down. She was feeling a tug. Toward the castle, so once again, her feet started moving hesitantly down the street, picking up pace after only a few seconds. To be completely honest, Kairi was utterly surprised that her arrival was imminent. The stretch of the concrete street heading towards the castle had seemed so long.

She wasn't even sure where the entryway was or if there was even a way in. She didn't know anything about this world. Maybe the buildings were there for appearance only and there was no way to enter them. They all seemed designed in such a quirky manner anyhow, especially the castle itself. But as she got closer, she could see an entrance quite clearly, though its outline suggested it wasn't intended to be visible to just anyone. Curious and a little annoyed at that thought, she wandered inside, surprised when the doors just opened for her. Like an elevator…

It was quiet. Kairi found that oddly troubling. Why was it so quiet? Was there no life here? Why would a world exist if it held no life, no people?

"You were truly a mistake. And the Superior will soon figure that out for himself." Kairi jumped at the sound of the voice, at least two feet of the ground, so surprised at the sound after not hearing anything at all-no birds, owls or crickets-that it seemed to jump-start her heart from its steady, slow beat back to that rhythmic one she had experienced along with the strongest urge she had ever felt in her life.

Now knowing that there were indeed people here, and not wanting to be spotted by strangers, the redhead quickly hid herself behind one of the walls in a corner, still enabling her to look out at what was going on. "Number Fourteen, are you listening?" The man talking had stunning blue hair that practically glowed with an air of radiance. He clearly held himself very proudly. The person trailing behind him however, Kairi could not tell the gender or appearance of. They both had on long, black coats with silver accessories and a zipper trailing down the full length of the coat but unidentifiable one had their hood up, effectively shadowing their face from view.

"I'm not a mistake…." The voice muttered quietly, making Kairi perk up and strain her ears to listen. She still couldn't tell if the person was male or female. The mutter had been too quiet to really tell. "Just give me another chance!" Louder and finally able to distinguish, the girl removed the hood revealing short, cropped black hair that shone like silk the color of pure burnt coal. Her eyes were a ravishing, pale dark blue and they shone with a passionate fury Kairi never saw in anyone except Sora. Not even Riku could get that fierce of a look in his eyes.

The man with the blue hair gave a smirk, turning towards Kairi's direction but not within range of spotting her, and put a hand to his chin, fingers curled in sadistic thought. "You've already proven how worthless you are. You are now dismissed, Fourteen." With a wave of his hand, haughty and uncaring, he clearly said it was more than okay for her to leave.

"But_" _"You are dismissed, Fourteen." _He hadn't yelled or screamed but his hiss was so low, a forewarning of danger that even Kairi was startled. The blackette stopped mid-sentence, her lips lowering into a miserable pout, quivering unmistakably. "If you would just give me more chances to prove myself, we'd both be in better positions, Saix."

With a snarl of her own, she stalked off, her sadness quickly evaporating into pent-up anger. She was hurt and felt betrayed and that made Kairi's lips part in curious mourning. Why did that girl seem like she was repeatedly hurt and abused on a daily basis, but covered her obvious grief up with a fiery attitude? Kairi had just seen her, only just figured out her gender and had no name to go by, but suddenly she felt as if she knew this girl. Her heart gave a hard thump against her chest at that thought, seeming to agree with her unspoken statement.

The blue-haired man leisurely walked the opposite direction, making Kairi quickly shield herself from view, as far as she could into the corner. She was still easily noticeable but the man seemed to take no interest in his surroundings, the smirk plastered on his face making Kairi frown.

As soon as he was out of sight, Kairi poked her head around the corner once more. The girl was gone, and no one else seemed to be around so Kairi slowly, unsurely stepped forward, out of her reclusive hiding spot and into the pale, white hallways. She had no idea which way the girl had gone; no clue at all but she always felt that your heart would lead you where you were meant to go in life. And she somehow _knew_ she had to find this girl. So with more courage in her steps, she moved forward, quickly and more sure of herself.

She wandered aimlessly in the castle for what felt like hours, the cold marble against her feet reverberating, pounding against the walls and echoing throughout the area. She sighed quietly and even that small sound echoed against every surface of the maze of a hallway she was currently in. A sudden pickup of pace in her heartbeat was her only clue that maybe, just maybe, she was nearing her destination. And then she heard that voice. That melodic, fierce voice that unexpectedly left Kairi feeling lonely.

Was that how the girl felt? "Xion, you know how Saix is. Don't let him get to you." A concerned, male voice was the speaker this time and he sounded familiar. Way too familiar to be a stranger. She leaned out to the side, allowing her head to see past the wall she was behind this time.

What she saw instantly made her head spin, her world turning topsy-turvy all around her, the sounds of her heart pumping and blood flowing ringing throughout her ears, making her curl into herself, her arms quickly coming to rest tightly, fists clenched, over her chest. That boy…he was exactly like Sora. _Sora…._ The sound of that name in her head brought her back to an at least decent reality, where her vision was normal and her heart was slower…

But it also brought a pang to her chest, ringing through her like a bell on the roof of a church, ringing against everything around it, seeming to break through every barrier in front of it.; loud and needing to be heard. Sora was the reason she had entered that dark portal, whatever it had been, and all she found was a look-alike. A copy. And yet…

She looked around the corner again, this time a nauseous feeling crawling its way inside her belly alongside the dizziness as she looked at the boy and the girl. Was the reason she looked familiar because she looked like Kairi herself? Was this world perhaps a different dimension instead? Filled with different copies of people that already exist? Kairi's head was throbbing dully, the unwanted and surprising nausea making her fall down to her knees, still out of view of these…_copies._

Whatever it was they were, Kairi felt hopeless. Had she made the wrong choice by entering that portal? Why had it led her here? Why would she be meant to come to a world where only look-alikes seemed to exist? Nothing made any sense at the moment, all of these questions crashing into her forcefully, a tidal wave creating a path of destruction.

"Maybe he's right, Roxas. Maybe something is the matter with me. But I don't _feel _broken. My body seems to be working fine and I can communicate okay." "We can't feel, Xion, remember? The Superior's always saying so and he is our leader…"

Kairi shook her head, dispelling the dizziness with a final shake and faced their direction again. She soon realized that looking at the girl instead of the blond, spiky-haired boy was easier on her. It even calmed her, relief flowing through her body. The boy was the one that brought on the dizziness, it seemed. But…the boy looked so helpless. Like he wanted more than anything to not believe what this "Superior" told them. What was this about them not feeling?

"I know, Roxas, but…" The girl seemed to struggle with how to word what she wanted to say, pursing her lips in a manner that made Kairi's lips slightly quirk upwards. This girl really did seem to be like her. "Axel said we can at least remember what it's like to feel so maybe that's what I'm doing. I may not remember my past, but, I'd at least hope I have the ability to remember what all the different feelings are like…"

Now it was the girl who seemed helpless, huddling into herself the way Kairi had done before, her expression tormented by what was seemingly agonized confusion. This girl wanted to understand but didn't. She didn't even seem to understand her own existence. That thought made Kairi sad. Had this girl never been loved? Or accepted? But…that boy seemed to accept her. He just seemed as confused as she was. They both were mirror images of one another. Both had stunning blue eyes, much like Kairi's and they both longed to understand.

It seemed life was a confusing prospect for them. Like they were confused at how they were alive and why. Kairi tilted her head, thinking. It wasn't until after the boy had shook his head in a confused sort of understanding at the girl's words and then left that said black-haired girl seemed to somehow sense Kairi's presence. Dark hair whipping against her face and neck as she whirled around, now facing Kairi, she was clearly a stunning sight to Kairi.

Even if she did look like Kairi, she was beautiful in a way Kairi could not even hope to achieve. She seemed to be a blackette, blue-eyed piece of perfection. Not that Kairi was calling herself perfect; far from it. This girl had a radiance about her that even Kairi didn't have.

"Hello? Who's there?" Within the blink of an eye, Kairi was sent reeling once again. Except this time, it was an oddly good kind. A giant key of sorts had materialized in t girl's gloved hands. Like what Sora had. What was it called again? Keyblade…? That was it… Why did this girl have one?

Kairi, steadying herself once more and calming her dangerously spinning head, she stood up and walked into view of the blackette. "Hello…" Kairi's voice was unnaturally quiet and timid, her posture nervous and unsure of what would happen next; what this girl's reaction would be.

Big, blue eyes blinked curiously at Kairi and the Keyblade vanished with a small flash of light, the heels of Xion's boots sounding against the marble as she walked towards Kairi. "Who are you?" "My name's Kairi. I have no clue how I got here to be honest." Kairi gave a sheepish grin, running nervous, trembling fingers through her red locks. "And your name? I heard the guy call you Fourteen?"

The other girl frowned. "Oh, Saix. Yeah, a lot of the Organization calls each other by number. I'm number Fourteen. Xion." Kairi swallowed as the name of this girl was finally spoken. She had known that all along. Somehow. She had just…forgotten. This girl…Xion…had Kairi known her in her younger days? Was that why she was familiar? Kairi was itching to know the reason why this girl already felt like a part of her, already took up a large portion of her heart.

"Organization?" Kairi wanted, ached, _longed_ to say more but those were the only syllables to leave her dry lips, eyes never leaving Xion's face. Xion looked around her, both ways and then said in a quiet voice, "I don't know who you are, but I guess I can tell you…The Organization is made up of people called Nobodies…basically, we have no hearts." Xion frowned as she made that statement, Kairi not sure whether it was from not knowing why they had no hearts or not knowing if she truly believed that or not.

"How can you not have a heart? Surely you must…" "No, okay, we don't. I'd like to believe that our kind isn't like that, that we're like any other person but I'm told constantly that what I wish for is foolish. We don't have hearts, end of story." Her voice was bitter and an angry kind of confused. Her eyes flashed with the need to understand what was real and what wasn't. Kairi could see she was told these things and was told that they were true but she didn't know whether or not to believe these things.

What was supposed to be her life, or rather, what she was told was her life was actually a burden. "Anyways, we collect hearts in the hopes that someday…we can have our own." A shrug was Xion's only following movement, her posture indicating clear discomfort. Kairi's body was now burning to touch the other's, aching to comfort her, put the confused girl's mind at ease. So it was no surprise when she stepped forward and grasped the other's hand with her own.

Leather glove-on-skin-contact felt right to Kairi. Everything about Xion felt so right. Like it was meant to be. Kairi knew her intuition was strong but this was getting to be slightly ridiculous. People talk about love at first sight, but shouldn't it take bonding and spending time with that person to know whether or not you truly love them. Kairi's breath hitched in her throat; she was so confused, and yet things seemed so clear, so pristine.

Xion startled, her gaze flitting up to meet Kairi's, her cheeks slightly warming under the intensity of the redhead's concern and compassion. Then her lovely ocean-blue eyes fluttered down to their hands, fingers now intertwined, the movement having been initiated by Kairi.

"Why does this feel so right when…I can't feel at all?" Xion's voice was but just murmur as her lashes hovered beautifully over her even prettier eyes, her gaze now showing a serene calm. Kairi shook her head. "That's not true." The two girls stood together, hand in hand for what seemed like forever until the boy's voice from earlier sounded and Xion startled like a panicked horse.

"You have to get out of here! I've never seen anyone with a heart in the Castle before. You have to go; now!" Xion began to run, heels clicking against the floor, creating a unique sort of tempo alongside Kairi's pounding footsteps. A perfect harmony. She quickly opened a door and shoved Kairi inside, leaving her alone and in a completely new surrounding. This was just a room. No hallways, or winding passageways, but a bedroom, to be exact.

But it was so plain…The walls and floors were the same pale white, almost a dull gray, as the rest of the castle and there was only a bed placed in the center of the room, horizontally standing across from Kairi, a window on the far wall, showing the weird heart-shaped moon.

Receding footsteps were heard and Kairi waited, her patience being rewarded when a minute later, Xion entered the room alongside her. With a sigh, she closed the door and leaned her back against it almost tiredly, arms folded behind her. "I just lied to him."

"Huh?" Kairi shifted to put most of her weight on her other foot, brushing her long bangs out of her eyes, looking at Xion intently. "He asked who I had been talking to and I said myself. Which was a lie because I was talking to you. I've never lied to him before…"

When Xion looked up, pain was clearly etched onto her face, every line, every detail of her face being consumed by this torrent of pain. It was so intense, it made Kairi gasp, her hand going up to cover her mouth. And they were told they didn't have hearts…no, there was no way that was true. This girl's pain was real. Kairi could feel it.

There seemed to be strings all about the room, connecting one part of them to a different part of the other; binding them together. Pulling them closer. So it was to be expected when Kairi stepped forward _and_ when Xion stepped to the side, away from the redhead.

Kairi instantly knew why. This girl had been told so many things and wasn't sure what she herself believed and Kairi was a stranger telling her the things Xion probably wanted, wished to believe. How would Kairi feel if a stranger told her she had a heart when she had gone her whole life believing she didn't? Because that was what she had been told. But Xion wasn't a stranger to her. She could already envision Xion coming back to Destiny Islands with her.

Kairi had always believed in true love, never positive, though on _love at first sight_, and she felt as if she already knew Xion. Could love her if given the chance to know her better. To understand her. Were the two connected? True love and feeling like she knew everything there was to know about Xion?

Those thoughts swirled constantly in both Kairi and Xion's heads throughout the following days after their meeting. Days turned into weeks and then weeks quickly turned into months. Xion found herself spending less time with Axel and Roxas and more time with Kairi and Kairi was thinking less and less about Sora and Riku and more about Xion, envisioning them together, her mind wanting nothing more than to be filled up with memories of the two of them together; which with as much time as they were now spending together was quickly happening.

Xion and Kairi would both stay in Xion's dull, lifeless room during the night, talking, shyly discovering new things about the other and then falling asleep together. And then they would wake up, Xion would go on something called a mission and would be back right after with something called sea-salt ice-cream along with an adorable, shy smile.

In the back of her head, Kairi knew she should still be concentrating on trying to find Sora and Riku but another part of her found that the girl in front of her was more important. She still cared about Sora and Riku, but with her gift of intuition, she felt she would see them again someday. She now couldn't imagine herself without this coal-haired beauty that was now the object of her affections.

But it was also easy for her to see that Xion felt trapped here. Even though she said Kairi made her as happy as someone with no heart could possibly be, she still acted like a caged animal needing fresh air. And Kairi agreed. This couldn't be a healthy place to live. She needed sunlight, and not just the heart-shaped moon surrounded by darkness.

Kairi gave the other girl's hand a squeeze, initiating eye contact from her and Kairi smiled. "You don't like it here much, do you?" Xion gave a slight, strained chuckle, the sound obviously being forced through her voice box and out her throat. "How could you tell?" Xion gave an answering squeeze of her own, fingers flexing comfortable, having grown fond of the new but not at all dislikable gesture.

"I've been thinking the past few days…we should run away. From here. And go somewhere where the people here can't find us." When Xion didn't instantly protest, Kairi took that as a good sign and gave Xion's hand another squeeze. There was a pause, but Xion did finally reciprocate the gesture, with a smile. "Alright."

And it was because of Xion's response that the two managed to get away. Since Xion could create the portals that had led Kairi to her in the first place, that was how they traveled from world to world looking for the perfect one for them. They still didn't know if they maybe should have waited a little longer before leaving but being together felt right. Kairi still did think about Sora and Riku and vowed to see them again one day, and it was because she had been looking for Sora that she found Xion so she was thankful. Xion promised that she would go back and see Roxas and Axel someday because they were her first friends, but she needed to be with Kairi.

Kairi couldn't explain why Roxas looked like Sora and why Xion like her. She just decided not to question it. For now life was good. Because she had Xion by side. And no fear or regret was felt during their moments together. Life can change in an instant. And because they were together and cared about one another, they didn't think about all the questions looming over them like a dangerous storm cloud, lightning about to strike. Like why had they met? Why were they seemingly made for one another? Kairi never stopped questioning why Xion fought those same exact dark creatures that Sora had in the past. Or why Roxas looked so much like him. These thoughts were always on replay in her mind, but she did know that she cared for Xion.

It had been sudden and instantaneous but they would learn the answers to all their questions in the future, Kairi was sure. So for now she was content just to be with the girl whom she _knew_, somehow felt was her other half. And that was all anybody needed right?

A/N: Wow….this was….rushed? ^^; Can you tell? It just flowed onto the Word document so fast but I feel like it's not as good as my previous AkuShi one…I don't know, is it too confusing? Did things move too fast? Was it odd that Kairi didn't find it strange she was crushing on a girl? Did it end on a weird note? These questions are plaguing me now. Some of these scenes came into my head while listening to Not Gonna Get Us by t.A.T.u. I don't know; Xion and Kairi just looked so perfect running away together. XD I'll most definitely do other one-shots tied to this fic, as well as with my AkuShi one. Hopefully the other ones tied to this fic are better and not as rushed. 

I guess, just tell me what you think. How you think I could have done better and such. What you did like, if anything. xD;;;;;; Oh, and I wrote this in third person, but I really wanted it to seem like it was still in Kairi's perspective and yet I feel that I came out writing this more like I was a narrator. Any comments about how I did with writing it? 

Oh, and since I forgot at the beginning…Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. I just lovingly write fics about it. ;D


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